Category: sponsored

Freelancers Rejoice!

This is an affiliate-sponsored post. I may also receive a small commission if you click on one of these links, at no additional cost to you. These help keep my blog up and running. Thank you!

I’ve shared my love of Freshbooks before, but they have a fantastic new feature that makes their service even more valuable to freelancers. I’ll tell you  more about that in a minute.

What is Freshbooks? It’s an invoicing and accounting software for anyone who routinely sends invoices (like myself, for my freelance writing/photography/styling) or tracks expenses and/or time for clients. Sure, you could make an invoice template yourself and track everything yourself. Why waste that much time? Why bury your head in a spreadsheet for hours at a time? Sure, you can send invoices through PayPal, but is that really professional? I love Freshbooks for so many reasons, but the first is that the invoices look top-notch professional, and are easily trackable. You can even track your time to add to the invoice IN Freshbooks itself. You can even take credit card payments directly through the email invoice…and clients who can pay by credit card tend to pay MUCH faster (Freshbooks says 11 days faster…that’s more than 2 business weeks!). Can you automate this? Yes.

When it comes to tracking expenses, Freshbooks couldn’t make it any easier for you. Use your phone to snap a photo of a receipt, log it, and it stores it in the cloud until tax time for you (which they make SO easy). You can even mark certain receipts as billable to certain clients or projects. Can you import bank transactions to make logging credit card purchases more efficient? YES. Can you bill a client in a different currency? YES. Freshbooks makes it all so easy, you guys.

All of your double-entry accounting needs are covered, too, so you don’t need Freshbooks plus another app or software. You can keep all your P&Ls, COGs, CAs, BSs (that’s Balance Sheets ;)), and you can even give your accountant direct access come tax time.

So now that you’re already sold, let me just put a little cherry on top for you. Freshbooks just released a new feature: Retainers! No, not the kind you put in your mouth. Here’s what Freshbooks can do for you with retainers: “- Collect recurring client payments in advance, track hours against the allotted time, forecast monthly income, effectively manage project progress and avoid scope creep, set clear expectations with clients, and streamline invoicing.” Your life just got even easier.

Sign up for Freshbooks here!

Learn how to create an invoice that gets you paid fast here!

For more of my favorite resources for bloggers and freelancers, click here!

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Categorized as sponsored

Boss Lady Jumpsuit

Posing during a book signing at The Toadstool Bookshop in Keene, NH
GUYS. This BOSS LADY Jumpsuit is just perfect for summer Happy Pretty Messy book signings. I love how it is structured and work-appropriate (for me), but also just fun and carefree. It’s ideal. AND IT HAS POCKETS. And, um, did I mention its only $14? Yeah, you heard right, it’s only $14 from Tobi. They sent it to me for free to review. My honest review? LOVE. IT.

Wearing the pink clogs mentioned in Happy Pretty Messy, of course! 

$14 you guys. Pockets. Strapless or straps. Perfection.

I love it. You will too.

You’ll shine it in, I know you will.
Get your boss lady (jumpsuit) on.
Love,
Natalie 

Pretty Party Dress and Lush Faux Fur

(Tobi provided these clothes to me for free in exchange for my post and honest review!)
Can you TELL by this photo how GLAM I am feeling in this crazy-cozy faux-fur collar cocoon sweater? It’s like a little winter sleeping bag of glamour that I can wear with anything. It’s so luxurious one lady thought it was real. The only thing that would make this EVEN better is a tiny little clasp to hold the two sides of the cardigan together, but I can add that with two stitches so it’s no big deal. This also comes in burgundy, which I think would just be FAB with dark red lipstick and sunglasses. So movie-star-esque.

This is the lace skater dress I chose to wear for my birthday brunch with my boyfriend. He was horrified at the amount of skin showing since it was January, but I am wearing hose, thick high wool socks, a cashmere sweater, a scarf, and the big cocoon coat on top. I was quite cozy in our little round booth as we ate deliciously soft scrambled eggs with local bacon, fresh fruit, and seasoned potatoes. Mmmmmm, can it be my birthday every day?

Tobi also sent me a “boss lady” jumpsuit and I picked up a top of theirs on my own, so I’ll be back with another post. In the meantime, go check this company out. I was quite worried, having never heard of them before, but now I’m seeing their stuff everywhere. I even saw a new with tags attached dress at my favorite consignment shop. The sizes fit normally (just pay attention to the measurements, but these are all smalls and fit me just fine!), the shipping and packaging was great. They have SO many cute things! 
I’m excited for the weather to warm up a bit so I can shed a few of these layers and take this dress out for a spin again. I think that means the boyfriend will have to treat me to a half-birthday brunch. Totally legit, right? 

(aaaand I totally just saw Tobi is having a 1/2 off site-wide sale so get overrrrrrr there!)

xo
Natalie 

Freelance + Freshbooks

This is an affiliate-sponsored post. I may also receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you click links below or make purchases through them. Thanks for your support! 

As my freelance business has grown, I’ve really been trying to keep up with the growth and create systems for my workflow.

One thing that makes this so much easier is FreshBooks, a cloud accounting, invoicing and expense-tracking system that I really love. I’m an affiliate for them now, because I use them so much, so if you click through any of my FreshBooks links and decide to sign up, I get a commission at no charge to you!

I used to make a new Word document invoice every time for every client, and email it. FreshBooks lets me send out recurring invoices, lets me email it as a PDF or Word, and they will even print it out and mail it for me (they include a return envelope)! It’s awesome! My invoices have my logo and are easily searchable by client, and I can track paid and unpaid invoices. Clients can even pay me by PayPal or credit card, an option I never had before.

I also love the automatic expense tracking. Once you import the bank info (totally secure) for your business checking and credit card accounts, they automatically import your expenses and categorize them for you. So easy!

There is also a time-tracking feature, which is awesome for my bigger projects (like book writing). My favorite feature here is the real-time TIMER button, where you start and stop the timer and it automatically adds the time to your invoice. Woah-hey.

The mobile app lets me snap a picture of a receipt and add it to expenses so I can ditch the receipts crumbled up at the bottom of my purse for “sorting later” (you did that too, right?). And P&L statements? Literally click a button. I just love that I can access this anywhere, too, since being mobile is part of my freelance business.

NEW for 2019: Retainers! Freelancers, rejoice. Freshbooks has added a new feature in 2019. You’ve wanted it for awhile, and they’ve finally heard. Retainers are here! No, not the kind you put in your mouth. The kind you collect from clients to keep your business at a regular monthly income. Retainers are win-win for clients and you, so this feature is a great new addition to the already-fantastic Freshbooks suite. You’ll be able to do so many more things, such as tracking time spent against time allotted, collect recurring payments automatically, forecast monthly income, manage project progress, and automatically invoice. This is such a great new feature, particularly for IT/tech freelancers, designers, photographers, and any time of consultant or coach. FreshBooks Easy Invoicing Page

FreshBooks is priced at $15/mo for up to 5 clients up to $50/mo for 500 clients. Trust me, this is nothing compared to the time and frustration this saves, which means I can add more billable time and projects to my week instead of spending it on invoicing, adding expenses, etc.

I truly love FreshBooks and if you run your own thriving small business, encourage you to check it out!